Office Romance Scandal (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 11
Jeong Hae Jin was the very person preventing Tae Hong from focusing on the documents. Irritably, he set his pen down and leaned back deeply into his chair.
He interlaced his fingers behind his head, and the bandage still clung to the tips of his overlapping fingers.
“Jeong Hae Jin.”
Deep in thought, Tae Hong stretched out his long arm and opened the bottom drawer. Inside the file was Jeong Hae Jin’s resume.
Strictly speaking, it was less a proper resume and more just basic personal information. It was true he’d never seen her actual resume, but if she was Jun Tae’s parachute hire, could it really be reliable?
He had a secret informant—someone who could fetch any information with just a phone call. That source would surely be more credible.
He’d received the file but hadn’t read it yet. He hadn’t been particularly interested, after all; it was just prepared in advance under the principle that more information is always better.
Yet, in just two days, Tae Hong had developed a small curiosity about Hae Jin. He’d initially dismissed her as just another unremarkable parachute hire, but her sharp, brisk actions made him briefly wonder if she might just land a solid blow to the back of his head.
Feeling he needed to clarify things once and for all, he opened the document.
Her confident self-introduction, the focused eyes carefully selecting clothes, the face full of worry over his injury, and the flushed cheeks revealed when they leaned close—vivid expressions flashed rapidly through his mind.
She was the daughter of Jeong Han Sung, CEO of Zion Company. He faintly recalled his father occasionally mentioning Zion—something about it being run by an old friend. He hadn’t paid close attention back then, so the memory was hazy at best.
So Jeong Hae Jin was his dad’s friend’s daughter? Even as a parachute hire, their connection was rather ironic. No wonder—her driving skills, shopping prowess, even her knowledge of gourmet spots. Clearly the pampered daughter who’d swiped her dad’s card plenty of times.
A scoff escaped him as the pieces of the puzzle clicked together. Then, suddenly, one detail caught his eye: she’d worked in the planning department at Zion.
When was that again? There’d been quite a buzz in the news once—about launching a world-renowned hotel brand domestically.
Zion had been the company that spearheaded the agreement. Back then, he’d even worked behind the scenes hard to poach the person in charge, Yeon Chang.
What had HR said at the time? Something like, “She’s the only woman on the planning team, and she won’t budge an inch.” Now it made sense—why would she ever leave her father’s company?
Jeong Hae Jin. What should he do with someone as multi-talented as her?
Tae Hong’s eyes, having read down to the last line, drifted once more to Hae Jin’s photo.
“Now that I look again, that expression was clearly just a mask.”
He needed to get a firm grip on her. If used well, she might prove a great help with Yeon Chang.
But the fact that she was his father’s parachute hire still weighed heavily on his mind.
**
It was just as he was reviewing his evening schedule that Byung Soo approached Hae Jin. Still buried in supplementary documents, Hae Jin hadn’t lifted her head from checking her schedule.
Tap tap—the sound of knuckles rapping the desk finally made Hae Jin look up. Byung Soo adjusted his cold, gold-rimmed glasses.
Glancing briefly at the document Hae Jin was reading, he spoke.
“Team Leader must be busy, right?”
“Oh, yes.”
“It’s nothing major. It’s just that it’s been a while since we’ve had a new junior join our Strategic Planning Team.”
They were even counting parachute hires as official new hires now. She appreciated his thoughtful gesture and responded with a small nod.
“Seems like you don’t have any days off, Team Leader. Could you tell me the earliest possible day we could wrap things up? Even if it’s modest, we should at least hold a welcome dinner for our new junior.”
Hae Jin quickly scanned through her schedule, but she still couldn’t tell which engagement might end early.
“Could I check and let you know? I’m still not familiar enough with the schedule to be sure just from looking at it.”
She wore a troubled expression. Byung Soo responded with an understanding smile, as if it were only natural.
“That’s fair. Team Leader isn’t really into company dinners anyway. We’ll keep it low-key, just among ourselves, so don’t feel pressured. Just pick a day that seems like it’ll end early.”
Byung Soo finished speaking, gave a playful wink, and returned to his seat.
Managing a brutal schedule made him a demanding team leader, but it also meant he himself had no personal time to spare, just like everyone else keeping up with that schedule.
“Sigh… only retail therapy will save me now.”
Anticipating her next payday, Hae Jin refocused on her documents.
Her final evening engagement was simple. Dinner wrapped up quickly. She discreetly glanced at Tae Hong.
“Um, Team Leader?”
Tae Hong, who’d had his eyes closed, opened them.
“Yes, what is it?”
His hoarse voice clearly conveyed his exhaustion.
“Among this week’s evening schedules, is there any event that’ll end early?”
He tilted his head toward her, as if confused by the question. Under his direct gaze, Hae Jin confessed honestly.
“Well… I haven’t fully grasped my duties yet, so I can’t really tell what’ll finish early.”
She spoke candidly. Her words sparked curiosity in Tae Hong’s eyes.
“Actually, Manager Lee just arranged a dinner gathering earlier.”
“A dinner gathering?”
Tae Hong’s eyebrows lifted slightly, then settled back down.
“Is there a dinner gathering I don’t know about?”
Oh no—had she just slipped up? Hae Jin clamped her mouth shut, but Tae Hong gently coaxed her.
“I’m not mad—go on.”
Since the words were already out, she figured there was no point holding back and recounted the earlier conversation. Tae Hong listened calmly and slowly nodded.
“Seems Manager Lee thinks highly of Assistant Manager Jeong.”
“Huh? What did I even do?”
“Right? You haven’t done anything—why throw a welcome dinner?”
Casually, Tae Hong fiddled with his phone screen. His sharp remark made Hae Jin lower her head.
Exactly. There’s nothing about me that warrants a welcome dinner. Nothing at all.
“On Friday this week, I can handle the client meeting by myself.”
The Friday client meeting that popped into Hae Jin’s mind was at a rather distant location.
“Are you sure you’re okay driving alone?”
Perhaps sensing her worried tone, Tae Hong let out a dry chuckle.
“Who’s worrying about whom here?”
Still holding his phone, he crossed his arms and turned slightly toward her. Even while driving, his gaze felt intensely warm on her.
“It’s pretty far—doubt even hired drivers would go out there easily.”
Her well-meaning concern was instantly deflected by his cutting remark.
“Who said anything about hiring a driver?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Assistant Manager Jeong can just drive herself to the welcome dinner and then pick me up afterward—wouldn’t that work?”
Look here, Team Leader. You don’t know what a dinner gathering is? A gathering’s highlight is alcohol—how can you deny us the chance to let the flowers bloom?
“Team Leader, just tell them not to hold dinners like this at all.”
“That’s absurd. It’s Assistant Manager Jeong’s welcome dinner.”
“How is making me come back to pick you up my welcome dinner?”
Hae Jin wanted to protest that this was utterly unreasonable, but she held her tongue. After all, even if she spoke up, he probably wouldn’t listen anyway.
“It was a joke.”
Wow, what a terrifying sense of humor. Hae Jin shot him a glare as if she’d equipped herself with high-powered lasers.
“Enjoy yourself freely. I’ll manage the schedule on my own.”
“So you’re saying I don’t need to come pick you up?”
“I’m not that petty a person.”
Of course—the Crown Prince ought to grant at least this much grace. Knowing he stood by his words, Hae Jin finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Time passed swiftly. A routine naturally formed: commuting to work together with Tae Hong in the mornings, followed by Jeong Hae Jin’s gourmet tours at lunchtime.
Tae Hong wasn’t picky about food and seemed quietly to enjoy these tours—evident from how he’d casually ask about the next spot.
Within the office, Hae Jin also got along well with her teammates. Since they hadn’t yet collaborated on any projects, there were relatively few chances for friction.
Finally, on the day of the welcome dinner, Tae Hong had already left early due to prior commitments, and Hae Jin was reviewing other schedules while waiting for her teammates to finish up.
“Assistant Manager Jeong, let’s go.”
Byung Soo approached her first. Over his shoulder, she could see the other team members tidying up their desks.
“We’ve reserved the place, so let’s head out together.”
Hae Jin quickly wrapped things up and followed Byung Soo. The Strategic Planning Team, gathering near the office for their first dinner in ages, couldn’t hide their excitement.
“You don’t hold dinners often?”
“Dinner gathering? What’s that?”
Byung Soo shrugged as if he didn’t even know what a dinner gathering was. Other teammates chimed in, adding that it had genuinely been ages since their last one.
“We’re only doing this because Assistant Manager Jeong joined. We rarely hold dinners.”
“Really? I thought a high-performing team like Strategic Planning would celebrate more often.”
“You’ve even looked into our team’s performance?”
Byung Soo’s gold-rimmed glasses glinted.
“Well… just in case. I thought it might help Team Leader a little, even slightly.”
“No matter how I look at it, Assistant Manager Jeong doesn’t seem like just another parachute hire.”
Byung Soo studied her with assessing eyes before smiling to mask his expression.
“Oh, come on—a parachute hire is a parachute hire. What are you talking about?”
Hae Jin also forced an awkward smile to cover her embarrassment and brushed the comment aside.
“A parachute needs plenty of fuel if it wants to skydive from high altitude. You get that, right?”
But Yeon Jung’s voice suddenly doused the mood like a bucket of cold water. The surrounding chatter instantly quieted, and even Hae Jin closed her mouth.
“Alright, alright—let’s just order the food already.”
Byung Soo quickly tried to lighten the atmosphere. Soon, ordered dishes and drinks arrived, and empty bottles began piling up one by one.
“It would’ve been nice if Team Leader could’ve joined us.”
Hae Jin unconsciously nodded at a teammate’s wistful comment.
“You know Team Leader doesn’t really like dinner gatherings.”
“I’ve never even had a drink with Team Leader before.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Still, since he approved this one, I thought he’d be joining us—that’s what I’d hoped for.”
“Yeah, me too.”
More voices chimed in with “me too.” Hearing their almost plaintive tones, Hae Jin grew curious.
Why didn’t he like dinner gatherings?
“Do you know the reason?”
Her question slipped out before she realized it, drawing everyone’s attention.
“The reason? He never said explicitly, but I think he mentioned he doesn’t like drinking alcohol.”
“True—his schedule’s packed every single day. There’s no way he hasn’t drunk his fair share already. Just thinking about it makes me shudder.”
Hae Jin watched a teammate grimace as if personally experiencing all that alcohol.
Indeed, she’d accompanied him to countless drinking engagements. Of course, he never looked unhappy during client meetings, but neither was he the type to drink excessively.
But really—did it even matter? A dinner without their direct supervisor was this enjoyable, after all.
Male lead first thought she played hard to get, only to realize she
really disliked him
Short intro:
What she can’t stand the most is the streets full of effeminate men, especially that so-called top beauty whom she avoids at all costs.
Shen Yaoxing looks at Jiang Mingyue, who keeps approaching her with coy shyness.
Shen Yaoxing: Bro, don’t be like this, I’m really about to throw up!
She fears nothing in heaven or earth, except for him getting close to her.
*
At first he thought she was just using the trick of feigning indifference to attract his attention. Later, he learned that she truly despised him.
This dealt a heavy blow to Jiang Mingyue, and he vowed to make her, like everyone else, fall at his feet in worship!
***
Synopsis:
Before transmigrating, Shen Yaoxing only wanted to find a reliable man to spend her life with. Who knew that after transmigrating, she would become a reliable woman herself…
A forced misandrist, highly skilled, and reliable female lead
vs.
An initially aloof and arrogant, later morbid, obsessed male lead
_____
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I like his honesty and my god there is communication.